Have you ever been listening to an audiobook and thought to yourself, Geez, this sure could use more romance. Perhaps a real sports league and players to draw from. And definitely a massive, unhinged, fuzzy, orange thing to tie it all together? Well, you’re in luck. The NHL now has you covered!
The league recently rolled out its new “Hot for Hockey” campaign, the latest move in its new marketing strategy to humanize players, taking it a step further and kinda sorta sexualizing them. The campaign features 60- to 90-second audio romance stories on Spotify featuring real NHL players, written by popular hockey romance authors, and playing to BookTok’s popularity.
The titles feature a variety of romance puns like The Storm Between Us and Chasing Connor, which is usually what Capitals defensemen literally do when they play the Edmonton Oilers.
NHL ‘Hot for Hockey’ audiobooks
| Title | Player | Spotify |
|---|---|---|
| Jack of Hearts | Jack Eichel | Link |
| The Storm Between Us | Sebastian Aho | Link |
| Chasing Connor | Connor McDavid | Link |
| The Summer I Turned Gritty | Trevor Zegras | Link |
| Never Miss A Beat | Mika Zibanejad | Link |
| Never Taking It Slow | Kyle Connor | Link |
All of the short stories end by encouraging listeners to tune into games and find out how they play out. Because, of course, young (and predominantly female) fans watch hockey to fantasize about attractive players. (This is sarcasm; many just like the sport of hockey because the sport of hockey is awesome.)
According to Front Office Sports, a league spokesperson confirmed that the featured players agreed to be represented in the campaign.
“We were very proud to partner with real hockey authors, illustrators, and voice actors in the space and we’re grateful the players were willing to have a little fun with it too and approve their creative,” the unnamed NHL spokesperson said to the outlet.
The move is attempting to capitalize on a real section of untapped fandom and retain the real viewers gained from pop culture phenomenons “Heated Rivalry” and “Off-Campus” (both of which commissioner Gary Bettman says he has binge-watched).
According to NHL research, almost 1.8 million new viewers watched the NHL for the first time ever after watching “Off Campus” or “Heated Rivalry.” ESPN also experienced a 164 percent jump in average female viewership from the 2025 to the 2026 playoffs.
“If new people want to come and be a part of the game, we’re thrilled to have them,” Bettman said of the fans gained, per DK Pittsburgh Sports. “Since it seems to be a cultural phenomenon, we figured why not get on board.” He also confirmed that he had listened to the “Hot for Hockey” releases.
“[It] acts as an impetus for them to take a greater interest in the game (then) I think that’s great for the game,” Bettman concluded.
Sean Eggert, the NHL’s new senior executive vice president and chief marketing officer, told ESPN that the popularity of sports and hockey romance has become a major cultural force around the game.
Under Eggert, the league has increasingly focused on humanizing its players and showing fans more of their personalities and relationships away from the ice. He pointed to shows like Off Campus and Heated Rivalry as examples of how hockey can connect with audiences by revealing the people behind the helmets.
That approach has also been reflected in campaigns such as “NHL In Focus,” a photo and profile series featuring young stars away from the rink and without their equipment. The NHL’s new CBA similarly eliminated game-day dress codes, giving players more freedom to express their personalities.
As Eggert put it, “People fall for people.”
An NHL team has tried to embrace BookTok audience before, but the results turned concerning. The Seattle Kraken played into that corner of the internet in 2023, creating content appealing to BookTokers and even inviting creators to games.
However, attention and crushing on Alexander Wennberg, who was a forward for Seattle at the time, crossed lines and prompted statements from Wennberg and his wife, Felicia, criticizing the increasingly erratic online behavior and comments. Felicia, who initially joined in the fun and joked about her husband’s BookTok popularity, said, per ESPN, that the internet discussion had turned “predatory and exploiting,” saying fans “desires come with sexual harassment.”
Her husband later made a statement of his own in response to “vile comments,” as he described them, directed at his wife and even on posts including their toddler.
“The aggressive language about real life players is too much. It has turned into daily and weekly comments on our personal social media. This is not something we support or want our child to grow up with. All we ask for is a little respect and common sense moving forward. We can all take a joke and funny comments, but when it turns personal and into something bigger that affects our family, we need to tell you that we’ve had enough. Enough of sexual harassment, and harassment of our character and our relationship. Thank you for your understanding,” his statement read.
The Kraken have since removed BookTok content from their accounts.
